New York State Writers Institute - Classic Film Series

OUT OF THE PAST October 20 (Friday) at 7:30 p.m. Page Hall, 135 Western Avenue (Free and Open to the Public) (American, 1947, 97 minutes, b&w, 16mm) Directed by Jacques Tourneur Starring Robert Mitchum, Jane Greer Kirk Douglas, Robert Fleming

OUT OF THE PAST is cinematic perfection--an old-time studio film with good taste, complicated emotions, stunning cinematography and psychological pertinence. It has been the guage for the film noir genre for over 50 years. Robert Mitchum plays Jeff Bailey, a small-town gas pumper, who has his mysterious past catch up with him one day when he's ordered to meet with gambler Whit Sterling. En route to the meeting, he tells girlfriend Ann his story. In a flashback, Jeff was a private eye hired by Sterling to find his mistress Kathie who shot Whit and absconded with $40,000. He traces her to Acapulco. . .where the delectable Kathie makes Jeff forget all about Sterling. Whit's new job for Jeff is clearly a trap.. .